Last week I was on leave and managed to enjoy a few days away in Belgium. We took the Eurostar to Brussels before travelling on to Bruges later in the day.
I found this great poster in the collection dating to 1911 advertising holidays to Bruges. The poster, by Floz van Ackez, shows the Saint Ursula Shrine (c.1489) by Hans Memling. It’s in the St John’s Hospital Museum, and lists the city’s famous residents; artists Van Eyck, Memling, Gerard and David.
It also depicts the Belfry in the market square and one of the city’s beautiful canals. It promotes the art and history of the city proclaiming Bruges ‘The Artist’s Paradise’. In 1911, it may not have been quite as easy as jumping on the Eurostar – but nevertheless the railway companies were keen to encourage continental travel.
This poster advertising Eurostar crossings to Brussels in 1996 takes a slightly different slant to the 1911 version, showing two people enjoying that other famous Belgian specialty: beer.
Eurostar began running in 1994, and its class 373 trains currently travel at up to 186mph on high speed routes.
